Mayer, Helene
Fencing
b. 1911, Offenbach, Germany
d. Oct 15, 1953
Mayer won a fencing gold medal at the 1928 Olympics, representing Germany, and she was the European champion in 1929 and 1931. After finishing fifth at the 1932 Los Angeles Games, she remained in the U. S. to study at the University of Southern California.
The daughter of a Jewish father and Christian mother, Mayer became a cause celebre in 1933 when she was expelled from the Offenbach Fencing Club as part of a Nazi purge of Jewish athletes. Shortly afterward, the AAU voted to boycott the 1936 Olympics, to be held in Berlin, unless Jews were allowed to take part in the German trials and compete for Germany in the Olympics.
As a gesture of compliance, the German Olympic Committee invited Mayer to join the national team. She accepted and won a silver medal, then won the world women's championship in 1937.
Mayer emigrated to the United States shortly before World War II broke out. She won the U. S. national foil championship in 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, and 1946.